‘Obama rodeo clown’ says he has received death threats

The rodeo clown who created a maelstrom of controversy for a mocking depiction of President Obama at the Missouri State Fair earlier this month said he has received five death threats for his controversial performance.

“I’ve had somebody threaten to run me over. One of them wanted to burn the house down,” Tuffy Gessling told Kansas City, Mo.-area TV station KCTV.

He said one woman “called me a dirty name, spit in my face and walked off.”

Missouri state and fair officials moved quickly to ban Gessling after he donned a mask of Obama at the fair while an announcer asked people if they want to see the president “run down by a bull.”